5 Indians held at airport in China for drug smuggling

Beijing, Sept 13: Five Indians have been arrested by Chinese immigration officials at an airport in Yunnan province for allegedly smuggling about 18 kgs of cannabis from India.

The five accused who had kept cannabis in food packets and laptop bags were held at Kunming airport after they came from Kolkata on September 7, officials said.

The drug packets were discovered by the scanners at the airport. Their arrests have been notified to Indian officials and they have been granted counsellor access on September 21, the officials said.

Currently, seven Indians are held in prisons at Guangxi and Guangzhou on drug smuggling charges.

Drug smuggling in China is treated as a serious offence and in some cases the crime attracts death penalty or long prison terms. In July, a Colombian model was sentenced to 15 years in jail for drug smuggling in China.